Spirit Airlines has once again rejected a purchase offer from Frontier Airlines.
Frontier's most recent proposal, put forward on Feb. 4 and revealed in a regulatory document Wednesday, mirrored an offer Frontier made on Jan. 7. Spirit investors would receive $400 million in new debt issued by Frontier, plus 19% of Frontier's common equity. The Feb. 4 offer, however, would not have required Spirit creditors to complete a new $350 million equity investment, as outlined in Spirit's restructuring plan. Spirit is currently in Chapter 11.
Still, Spirit contended that Frontier's latest proposal would deliver less in value to the company's stakeholders than its existing reorganization plan.
A Spirit counterproposal was rejected by Frontier without a new counteroffer.
In a Feb. 10 letter to Spirit CEO Ted Christie, Frontier CEO Barry Biffle and Frontier chairman Bill Franke said eliminating the $350 million equity rights offering was a "significant concession" and that Frontier "would not agree to materially alter any of the other commercial terms of our proposal."
Spirit will continue to move forward with the Chapter 11 restructuring plan announced in November, the company said Wednesday. The plan is scheduled to go before a bankruptcy court judge for approval on Feb. 13. Spirit continues to anticipate emerging from Chapter 11 by the end of March.
In 2022, Frontier offered to acquire Spirit for $2.9 billion in cash and stock. That deal fell by the wayside when Spirit shareholders opted for a $3.8 billion offer from JetBlue. The Justice Department blocked the JetBlue-Spirit deal in January 2024, and the airlines dropped their appeal of the ruling last March.